Mandarin level 4 plus

Revised August 2025

Prerequisite for entry

Successful completion of Mandarin syllabus level 4 at UCL CLIE, or A level (or equivalent).  

Term duration

10 x 2-hour classes.

Aims and objectives

The aim of this course is to strengthen students' communication skills across diverse contexts, including airport, home, and office scenarios. By the end of the course, students will be able to communicate with a good degree of accuracy and fluency, enabling them to discuss practical, social, and environmental issues. The course will incorporate a significant number of written texts, building on students’ established reading and writing abilities. Additionally, it will foster students’ cultural awareness and expand their understanding of young Chinese people's career aspirations.

Functions

• Manage airport check-in procedures fluently and accurately
• Present ideas clearly and effectively
• Clarify points of view using phrases like 最主要的原因 (the primary reason).
• Strengthen arguments through exemplification
• Compare education systems in China and the UK
• Discuss catastrophic weather conditions
• Explore the advantages and disadvantages of living in big cities or remote areas for graduates
• Examine ecological challenges and measures to combat environmental deterioration

Course content

Main topics/themes to be covered:

• Check-in at a Chinese airport
• A visit to Chinese families in remote areas
• Career ambitions of graduate and their living styles
• Sandstorms in Northern China
• Environmental projects in China
• Individual’s responsibility in protecting environments

Grammar

• Weather description
• Comparative constructions
• Concession with phrases like 要不 (otherwise) and 这样吧 (how about this)
• Passivity using 受, e.g. 受……影响 (to be influenced by...)
• Options or sequences of events in an orderly manner using 首先……; 其次…… (first..., secondly...)

Learning resources

Books

Discover China: Student's Book Three, edited by Chen Xin, Jing Lili , Macmillan. Chapters 5-8
ISBN: 9780230406414

Discover China: Workbook Three, Chapters 5-8
ISBN: 9780230406421

Bilingual Dictionaries

• Langenscheidt dictionary
• Macmillan-FLTRP Chinese Character Dictionary
• Oxford Beginners' Dictionary

Websites

Dictionary

In addition there are supplementary materials for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.